Iraq- 10,000 years of farming and fighting

By Ken Root

The story isn't about how dangerous it is in Iraq. The story is about how the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture went there to talk about rebuilding the country's agriculture and the transition to a market based economy with the help of American agricultural experts from USDA and the Extension Service. The war remains omnipresent and every person in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is aware that life outside is dangerous yet they do their job as if they were in normal surroundings.

I got the call from Terri Teuber, USDA Communications Director, asking me to go on this mission with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns. I gained support from my wife and management of both Clear Channel Radio and High Plains Publishing. For this I am thankful because it gave me a week to focus on Iraq: past, present and future as well as to see and feel what is taking place in Baghdad. When I returned it gave me a chance to query others to see their reaction to the call for agriculture specialists to bring Iraq back from destruction and to lessen their dependence on food aid from coalition nations.

No matter how I tried, there was nothing "usual" about reporting this story. I didn't want to report the same thing you see on the evening news (although I can confirm it) and I didn't want to sensationalize or create a story that isn't there. I determined the story could be about how dangerous it is for Americans to be there or the story could be about hope for a new Iraq after we bring our troops home. The reality, as usual, is somewhere in between.

Iraq has major political problems. They have just formed the fourth governing body since the occupation in 2003 and finally ratified a constitution. This allowed the election of a governing body and the first attempts to influence the country from the top down since Saddam Hussein was deposed.

Secretary Johanns was briefed by military and civilians as well as a protocol officer who stayed with him for the day. The Iraqis met with him at the highest levels: Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister but the Minister of Agriculture was absent. He was said to be "out of town" but speculation was that it was not advisable for him to be seen with Americans at this time.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary Johanns seemed to get along wonderfully. They laughed and shook hands vigorously. Dr. Shalom, indicated his love for the land and the need for help to rebuild the infrastructure of their agricultural system. They talked about the need to fight insect pests, particularly one that is destroying the date palm trees and reducing their largest cash crop.

It was acknowledged that four billion dollars in food aid is going to the Iraqi people and many pay nothing for food at this time. To "wean" them is politically sensitive yet the cost to keep supporting many who could pay for food is very difficult for contributing nations. The government recognized that it has not done well to prepare people to move to greater food responsibility.

On the other side, James O. Smith, the counselor with the Office of Ag Affairs (the precursor to the Agricultural Attache') said that grain farmers and livestock producers are subsidized in a manner that also has to change. "The government sets a price that is unresponsive to market signals and buys the farmers grain. It then sells the grain at a lower price to poultry producers and other grain users. To buy the grain you must have a card that shows you are a livestock producer but many of them are not and they then sell the grain on the open market." Sounds to me like we've got the same people writing farm policy in both of our countries!

Iraq is a desert landscape, but it is not a poor country. Its river land is rich but has had little care in the last twenty-five years of warfare. The workers of suitable age for military service have been called to duty and any farmers who opposed the Baathist regime were either killed or thrown off their land. We cannot appreciate the struggle they face to survive, let alone tend their crops and livestock.

If you were to be shot at while planting your crop or find that your fields had been mined, you'd do the same as the Iraqis. You would focus on surviving today and not worry about feeding yourself next year. Once the cycle of agriculture is broken it takes time for the farmer's confidence to be restored and longer for fields to again flourish.

A military officer was said to have remarked that for a million dollars he could restore his sector's irrigation canals for five miles away from the rivers rather than the one hundred yards that is watered today. The question is where the million dollars would come from. Does it come from the budget for weapons and troops to keep the insurgents at bay? Would it come from domestic programs in this country? Like so many worthwhile things in life, it comes down to money and will. It appears everyone is short on both right now.

The Extension service underscored these issues in interviews late last week with state and national leaders. All brought up the need for money to make our research available to the Iraqi farmers and, when asked if Americans would go to Iraq to work in the agricultural areas, they suggested that Iraqis be brought here, trained and sent back. No one wants to see a tape on Al-Jizera Television showing one of our extension specialists blindfolded and awaiting execution.

One day in Baghdad brings little more than inspection and reaction but there is one sure thing about Iraq: the road to peace and prosperity will be a long and treacherous one.

Editor's note: Ken Root is now celebrating his 34th year as an agricultural professional. His career began as a vocational agriculture teacher then turned to agricultural broadcasting and writing as well as environmental consulting and association management. He was the original host of AgriTalk (1994-2001) and now is lead farm broadcaster for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. Ken also contributes to the Midwest Ag Report electronic newsletter each Friday. A free e-mail subscription is available by going to www.hpj.com and clicking on Midwest Ag Report.

Date: 8/10/06

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